[debrawilliams52]

I'm a child born out of wedlock of a married man. I Don't wear his last name, but he claims me as his child. My sister by his ex wife filed a AFF of Heirship 11 years ago without adding me. Is there anything I can do to fix that?

[stinawords]

Do you have contact with your father? You said he claims you so I would imagine you do. Is he still living? Does he have a will? What is your general locale? Local laws vary so it is important to include this with any question on law.

[ebaines]

My sister by his ex wife filed a AFF of Heirship 11 years ago without adding me. Is there anything I can do to fix that?

Please clartify what you mean. An Affidavit of Heirship is typically filed when a deceased person has died intestate, and is used by the executor of the estate to document transfer of title of the deceased's property to the heirs. I don't understand why your half-sister would file this unless your father has died. But you indicate that "he claims me as his child" - which indicates he's still alive. So please clarify this, including the state he lives (or lived) in. But if in fact she has filed an affidavit that doesn't mention you then she has committed fraud. You should engage an attorney to see how to contest the affidavit.

Also - what do you mean by "he claims me as his child"? Are you talking about claiming you as a dependent on his income taxes? Or do you mean he publically acknowledges his paternity?

[smoothy]

Also what country and state would this be in as laws can vary significantly depending on location.

[debrawilliams52]

Please clartify what you mean. An Affidavit of Heirship is typically filed when a deceased person has died intestate, and is used by the executor of the estate to document transfer of title of the deceased's property to the heirs. I don't understand why your half-sister would file this unless your father has died. But you indicate that "he claims me as his child" - which indicates he's still alive. So please clarify this, including the state he lives (or lived) in. But if in fact she has filed an affidavit that doesn't mention you then she has committed fraud. You should engage an attorney to see how to contest the affidavit.

Also - what do you mean by "he claims me as his child"? Are you talking about claiming you as a dependent on his income taxes? Or do you mean he publically acknowledges his paternity?

Yes my father has passed away in 2003. I'm not sure who made her the executor but she listed all the children by her mother. My father publicly acknowledge me as his daughter and so do they. But it came down to his little property, it seems like the are not owning me now. Can I file a AFF of corrections or I am I too late, since she did this in 2004? I just found out she did this last week.

Do you have contact with your father? You said he claims you so I would imagine you do. Is he still living? Does he have a will? What is your general locale? Local laws vary so it is important to include this with any question on law.

My father passed away in 2003, the AFF was done 2004. I just found this out last week.

Also what country and state would this be in as laws can vary significantly depending on location.

I live in Texas, Brazos county

[ebaines]

Again, please tell us what state this is in. It may be too late - if your father died 11 years ago his estate is long settled. But if he had assets and died intestate you may be entitled to a share - it would be worth while to speak to an attorney to see what your options are.

EDIT** Ok, I see you edited your prior response to indicate TX.

Who was it who actually completed the form? In TX it must be done by a "disinterested" third party who receives no benefit from the estate, so it could not have been done by your half-sister.

The intestacy rules for TX say that your father's estate should be split 1/3 to his wife (if living) and the remainder split among his children or their descendants. The statute of limitations for contesting probate is 3 years - so again it may be too late, but see an attorney to get an expert opinion.

[stinawords]

Thank you for clarifying. You might be able to get an attorney to take the case but that would be up to each individual attorney so you can call around and find out. I won't say it is completely impossible but the SOL for contesting probate in TX expired quite a while ago. Did he have a will at the time he passed? I'm guessing not.

I understand that he acknowledged you in public as his child but was he ever legally established as your father? You were never adopted by a husband your mother may have had in the future (making you legally the "new" father's child not the bio father) correct? I'm guessing this is true because there was no mention of it but sometimes we get thrown curve balls like that long after answers were given.

My best advice would be to contact a couple local attorneys and see if they will take the case if it is worth the money. You said he has small property so you may end up spending more than you get back. Especially because of the SOL requiring a contest of probate by some time seven years ago. Good Luck to you.

[ScottGem]

As the others have noted, it is probably too late to challenge the distribution of the estate. And if the estate was small, the costs of hiring a lawyer to contest it, would probably be prohibitive.

You also didn't define what you mean by acknowledging you. Unless a court determined him to be your legal father, then you are not entitled to any inheritance unless it was in a will. It doesn't matter even if he took an ad in a local paper saying I am her father. Unless a court affirmed that your chances of getting a share of the estate are slim.

The way I see it, you have 2 strikes against you. First strike is how long ago he died. Second strike is no court order acknowledging you as a legal child. Either strike would be hard to overturn, but both together...